Salt Bell

Gary mounted a 2½” long yew log between centres, with a steb centre in the headstock and a cone in the tailstock. He turned a spigot then remounted it in the jaws and turned the end to a funnel shape; he drilled a 3mm hole through it then parted it off. (See photos GR_02, 03 & 04).

 

Using a ⅜” spindle gouge Gary hollowed the piece of timber left on the lathe to a bell shape, making it a little deeper than the funnel insert, then drilled a 12mm hole all the way through it for the handle to screw into. He cut a thread in the hole using a tap. Next he

cut the inner edge with a skew chisel so the funnel would fit into it and then glued in the funnel insert. (See photo GR_05). He tidied the base with a ¼” spindle gouge, curving it into the hole so the salt can be poured in through the hole. Finally he turned a couple of lines on the join to disguise it then sanded the bottom and applied finishing oil to it using a brush and a piece of paper. (See photo GR_06).

 

Gary’s Top Tip:

To ensure you don’t have a dig in when tidying the bottom, start with the tool a little way in from the edge, with the bevel rubbing then draw it back to the edge and start the cut.

 

Gary started to turn the outside then mounted it in a jam chuck and held it in place with the tailstock in the hole in the bottom. He then finished turning the outside to a bell shape and sanded and finished it. (See photos GR_07 & 08).

 

Another Top Tip:

When sanding between centres always hold the sandpaper at the back of the work so you can see how you are progressing and to ensure you don’t apply too much pressure and remove the fine detail you have just put in.

 

For the handle Gary mounted a short piece of ebony between centres and used a skew chisel to turn some beads then used a combination of the skew chisel, roughing out gouge and spindle gouge to turn the rest of the shape. Finally he used a thread chaser to turn a thread at the end to screw into the base. (See photos GR_09, 10, 11 & 12).